Five Things You Should Have Done By Age 50

There is at least one thing we all have in common -we are all getting older. What's different is what we choose to do with the time we have been given. Here's a look at five things we probably should have done by age 50.

I saw a list on Huffington Post  of things we should have done by age 50, and the response of readers was mixed. Some took it in stride, while others thought it was a bunch of nonsense. Many of the things on the list aren't big and grand --they are about some of the simple pleasures in life. But, it made me do some thinking and I came up with my own list. If you are expecting financial advice this isn't it. Here's five things you should have done - or should do - by age 50.

1) Stopped taking everything so dang seriously.  Realize that everything in life isn't life or death, black or white, good or bad, hot or cold, sink or swim. Lighten up. Don't feel the need to have a negative opinion  about everything that doesn't jive with your world view. Accept and embrace the differences in the world.
2) Stopped to smell the roses. We forget that life is a journey - not a destination. We spend too much time focused on some obscure, imaginary, abstract, undefinable point in our future that we are trying to reach. In the process, we miss out on all of the beautiful flowers along the way - the wonderful people that cross our path, the relationships that have blossomed, the smell of sugar cookies baking in the oven,  the wagging tail of a dog who is thrilled you have finally come home, or holding the hand of your sweetheart as you drive down the road.
3) Preserved photos, albums, and scrapbooks from your youth. It seems that as the years go by, we save less and less of the memories of our youth. We have thoughts like "this is just taking up room, I'm getting rid of this..." or   " I never look at this, why keep it?"  If you have children, that is the biggest reason to keep all of those souvenirs from your childhood. It will mean something to them -- when you are gone. And there may come a day -when  you are old and gray --sitting in a nursing home alone -- and you will take comfort in looking back at the days of your youth.
4)Told everyone that matters to you - that they matter to you. Don't wait until somebody's funeral to shower them with kind words. If you have something kind to say about someone, be saying it before they -- or you -- are gone.
5) Made a difference. Did you make a difference in someone's life? Or were you so consumed with your own journey that  you passed by unnoticed? It's never too late, to make a difference, so if you didn't, start now.